He worked with a close friend in Khurja, near Delhi, who has a kiln and uses traditional techniques and hand-painting to create the pieces for the restaurant.

“When it comes to developing new dishes and crafting my revolving menus, it’s always flavour first, before we look into perfecting its visuals and presentation,” Saurabh explains. “Some plates have been customised specifically for certain dishes, but in general, when I create a new item, visualisation of the final dish and the plate it sits on comes naturally as part of the creative process.”

“The plate used for these skewers was inspired by the casual lunches I used to have at old deli eateries in India. These were eaten at roadside restaurants serving the best local fare such as tikka, and they were usually presented on casual aluminium plates. This plate has holes in it so that you can stick the skewers in to stand upright – that’s the position they are actually cooked in.”

“At the restaurants I’ve worked in, we typically used banana leaves for paneer dishes, so I wanted to bring that traditional feel but give it a modern twist. The plate I designed is reminiscent of a banana leaf, but with blue and green elements to ensure the yellow paneer and orange Goan sambal contrast vibrantly.”

Text: June Lee/HerWorld

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